From our Ascended Life Community
a growing list of
Stories to Inspire
44. Stories to Inspire
Don’t you just love it when the Heavenly realm makes itself known in overt ways in our lives? Wow! It inspires us to be more committed to walk in sync with Heaven… because who doesn’t want to see the supernatural manifested in the natural realm! And BTW, that is most definitely a big part of our inheritance… to walk on earth and in Heavenly realities simultaneously.
This happened for Chris. Angels spared her life!
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Angels drove my car
This is my first experience of seeing in the Spirit realm.
I was at a hospital with a friend and her family, in Portland, Maine. My friend’s brother had been in a serious motorcycle accident and was declared brain dead. After being in the hospital for 48 hours straight, in the very early morning hours, my friend and I left the hospital in one car while her family followed in a car behind us. I was driving home and very tired. I closed one eye to see more clearly… and put my head outside the window, etc. That worked for about an hour.
All of a sudden I was overcome by shear exhaustion where I knew I could not keep my eyes open. I know this section of the road very well. There were cliffs on both sides of the road. I thought, “O my goodness I’m going to crash. Our friends will drive up on us and find us in a devastating accident. What more could happen to these people?!” My eyes seemed to almost be forced closed and I didn’t have time to pull over. So I said, “Jesus help!” Then my eyes closed.
With my eyes closed I saw 3 huge angels
around my car. When I saw them, I remember
thinking, “O Thank You, Jesus”…because there
was no way I could open my eyes. I don’t know
how long I had my eyes closed, but when I
opened my eyes, I could still see the angels.
They were huge beings… like really buff strong,
strong men. The had really long hair. Their faces
were very bright, there was a brightness about all of them. They were wearing white.
They were around the front of my car and then I realized that there were angels all around my car. And I noticed that my car was lifted off the ground… not 10 feet… just a little bit. I took the steering wheel and whipped it back and forth, but the car didn’t respond at all. I thought, “O my word! There are angels lifting my car off the ground!”
That jolted me so much that I was now wide awake. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. At the point that I was fully awake and aware, the angels gently lowered the car back down those few inches onto the ground. I could feel it… like the smoothest airplane touchdown landing that you’ve ever felt. I can still feel it today.
The car was now back on the road. Then I took the steering wheel and whipped it back and forth again. This time, the car veered back and forth and then the angels were gone. I was in awe.
I jabbed my sleeping friend pretty hard, “You won’t believe it! I just fell asleep, and angels drove the car.” She said, “Maybe you aught to pull over and sleep a bit.” I said, “Are you kidding me, I could drive to California now, if I needed to. You don’t get it, I fell asleep and God sent angels to spare our lives.”
That experience gives me much consolation when I go through difficulties. It was amazing to have that Heavenly veil pulled back a little bit for me to see that I have angels assigned to me. They actually have a tangible effect on things in my life. I’m still in awe as I tell the story today! – CH
43. Stories to Inspire
Angel sightings and angel engagements are on the rise. Heaven is releasing a greater grace for the saints to engage with our angelic partners. Approximately 300 mentions of angels in Scripture give many examples of the partnership of angels and saints. So, should the 'former house' have a greater experience than the 'latter house'? Of course, not!
Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Which means that if we are born again, WE CAN SEE! As someone models this for us and as we are trained, our faith begins to rise to walk in our God-given inheritance. Sometimes, all we need is for someone to tell us that we can!!!
You can see! We all can see! It's our inheritance.
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Angel of Courage!
Recently, I was at a celebration-of-life service for a long-time friend Dennis. His son Pat, had promised his dad that he would sing and play a certain song at the funeral. But Pat was so flustered that he messed up royally on the guitar. He stopped, turned aside and was about to give up completely. Everything was awkwardly silent for a few moments.
As a father, I felt compelled to ‘come alongside’ him so that he didn’t walk away defeated. I instantly engaged an angel to impart courage and strength
for him to press on. In just a few moments, Pat regained
his resolve and sang the rest of the song a cappella.
As I stayed engaged in the Spirit with Pat, I wondered if I
could see the angel with my eyes open. So, I focused my
attention on that part of the stage and sure enough there
was an angel who wrapped his arms/robes around him
and held him. It was a glowing soft apparition about 5-7’
wide and about 7-8’ tall. The angel stayed with him the
whole time.
Several times, I checked to make sure I was really seeing
this angel and even though the outline wasn’t crisp and
clearly defined, it was unmistakably an angel. I’ve ‘seen’
many angels with my eyes closed, but I’ve only seen them
a few times with my eyes open.
This graphic is constructed of an actual but trimmed picture of Pat singing during the funeral. The angel wings around him are photo-shopped in a way that portrays something very close to what I saw.
Later that evening, I messaged Pat the above account. He was grateful… and replied with the following…
FB Message from Pat
“I just want you to know that I could feel it. I had a friend with me that came to honor my dad. Last night after I walked off stage, he told me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face… “Dude… when you put your head down weeping, I thought you were going to quit for sure. Then, when you looked up and started singing a cappella, it sounded like the voice of an angel. It was the most powerful experience I’ve ever seen and the hairs stood up on my arms. God was with you and I think He touched me too.”
“I’ve never heard my friend talk like that. Thank you for sharing this Mark, thank you for serving with and loving my dad. Thank you and Debbie for being there and for your prayer.” – PD
Interesting note
My friend who passed away, was the principal of Dominion Christian School where in 1989, the school was visited with a very unusual and powerful move of God. Many of the children saw and engaged with angels and were escorted to and through Heaven… some great stories! How appropriate to have angels in attendance at his funeral! - MLH
42. Stories to Inspire
Religion hasn't done a great job of helping us experience the Heavenly side of our relationship with God. But a huge door has opened to the body of Christ in the last few years... a door that invites us to 'ascend' into the Heavenlies to experience our inheritance, first hand.
Vicky is a wonderful and precious woman of God and when it came time to try something new, she was willing. And what's so cool is that God met her at that first gesture of willingness. Without any mental 'sweat' she was immediately taken into her Heavenly inheritance - His Presence. That kind of Heavenly encounter leaves an indelible impact on our lives... and many times, it's deeper than we can actually articulate.
But isn't that just one of so many things that impress us about our Father? He's able to change our hearts when our heads don't even know what happened. It just makes us fall more in love with Him!
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First time experience... never to be forgotten
“I’ve never had an experience like this before."
"During an ‘ascension’ meeting with Mark at the Wilderness
Prayer Center, I focused my mind on going to Heaven. I had
a slight physical sensation of going up… and saw that I was
approaching the Throne… and then Jesus came to meet me.
I didn’t see any facial features but just ‘knew’ that it was Jesus. The feeling of love and acceptance and being completely cared for was the main way that I identified Him. The ‘greeting’ was very short because as I drew near to Him, I saw and felt something coming from Jesus like liquid love pouring over me and inside of me. I actually felt it go through me. Then it seemed to change and it became a waterfall pouring over me, cleansing me completely."
"It was a simple encounter but very powerful, refreshing and ‘filled my tank’, because I felt so valued that He would meet with me and pour His love in me. I will never forget this impacting experience, which is now a significant ‘memory stone’ in my relationship with Jesus.” – VN
41. Stories to Inspire
Heaven is waiting to be invited, engaged, activated. Really! Jesus said He could have called for thousands of angels (Matt 26:53). (He didn’t because that would have foiled His ultimate mission at the Cross.) Abraham bargained with angels, Manoah inquired of an angel, Jacob wrestled an angel for a blessing, Zechariah told an angel what to do, Mary questioned an angel, etc.
Wouldn’t it be disappointing to find out that we 'toughed it out alone', only to find out that we had one of the greatest resources of Heaven waiting for our signal to bring us into triumph?
In this next story, angels were solicited and engaged over this business, which yielded a rather dramatic outcome. How exciting as we discover all the Biblical possibilities we have with all of the Heavenly hosts... and as we learn the Heavenly protocols to engage them! We’re going to get good at partnering with Heaven!
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Takin' it to the streets - 54th St Grill
A few years ago, my friend Walt and I were looking for ways to invade and impact the business world with Kingdom realities. We knew an assistant manager of the local 54th St Grill and asked him for permission to come in every Tuesday morning before they opened so that we could pray over the building and for the business and staff, etc. He agreed and we prayed for about an hour each Tuesday morn. We aggressively engaged angelic ministry and assistance over the whole operation. The assistant manager and manager listened in from time to time. After about 6 weeks, it sort of felt like our assignment was over so we notified the manager that we were finished.
A few days after that, there was a bank robbery in downtown
Kansas City. The thieves drove their get-away car south
through Grandview, MO and past 54th St Grill. For some
‘strange’ reason they decided to stop and rob the restaurant
on their way by. They entered the store with guns drawn
and were in the process of robbing the store. But just at
that time, as the Lord would have it, a police officer spotted
the get-away car, entered the store and quickly, without
incident, stopped the robbery, apprehended the criminals...
and recouped the stolen bank money, too.
Afterwards the manager excitedly exclaimed, “The reason that robbery got foiled is because Mark & Walt have been releasing angels over this restaurant for the last 6 weeks! It was because of those angels!”
Angels are waiting to be invited into our lives and into Kingdom activity and to minister to all that pertains to us. Don’t let them get bored! - MLH
“Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” – Heb 1:14
40. Stories to Inspire
Holy Spirit prays powerful prayers through us (Rms 8:26). And His prayers are always:
Perfect prayers
Powerful prayers
Timely prayers
In alignment with Father’s will
Always gets answers to all of His prayers
And Paul says, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” – I Cor 14:15
Have you ever asked Holy Spirit what He’s praying through you when you’re praying in tongues? Try it next time. You might get a most wonderful surprise like we did.
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Holy Spirit surprise – travel in the Spirit
I was in a prayer meeting. We were all praying in tongues. I
suggested that we ask Holy Spirit what He was praying through
us and then ask if we could participate with Him. Within a minute
or so, and without warning or any lead-up ‘thought trail’, I found
myself ‘flying’ over Northern San Diego County – Vista and then Carlsbad, CA. I ended up about 150 feet above RC’s house. I could see the ocean in the distance and I could see down inside his house… but I didn’t ‘go in’. I was aware of the essence of the ‘burden’ that I was praying in tongues, but didn’t say anything in English. That lasted a few minutes and then the encounter ended.
At the end of the prayer meeting I told the group about my very vivid experience and informed them that the tickets were already purchased tickets for my wife and I to travel to SD County in two weeks. After that point my ‘flying’ encounter got completely ‘sealed off’ to me. I didn’t even think about it once, until near the end of this story.
My wife and I traveled by plane to San Diego. Without any thought of my spiritual ‘flying’ encounter, I called up my friend RC, and invited him and his wife out to dinner. RC said, “Come over to the house, we’ll talk and then go to dinner afterwards.” We did… and we had an amazing time. (In retrospect I realize that our conversation touched the essence of what I prayed about in the encounter.) We went out to dinner and had two hours of a super good time. Debbie and I remarked when we drove away, that was probably the most meaningful time we’ve ever had with them.
Two days later, I was riding in a car with another friend MH, who said, “Isn’t that where RC lives?” At that moment, the ‘flying’ encounter that I had with Holy Spirit in the prayer meeting two weeks before, suddenly reappeared from my memory. I quickly exclaimed, “MH, I came here in the Spirit two weeks ago and in our recent time with RC and his wife, we ‘lived out’ essentially everything that I encountered two weeks ago. Wow! It all unfolded like the encounter.”
We were both amazed! Two weeks ahead of time, Holy Spirit had taken me to set some things in place and in motion. Then He sealed it up, so that memory wouldn’t guide me. Then two weeks later, after the great time of fellowship was over, God unlocked my memory so that I recalled the encounter and could see the power of traveling in the Spirit and traveling in time.
Wow! Wow! Wow! This ‘above the line’ world is so fascinating and captivating. More Lord! – MLH
39. Stories to Inspire
Most of us believe in angels. It’s likely that many of us believe that angels attend to us. But most of us have very little understanding of angels and much less interaction with angels. What would it do for you to ‘see’ your angels actively engaged in their assignments over your home and over you? Would that inspire you? Would you feel more protected, secure and emboldened in your life and family? I think the answer is unquestionably, “Yes!”
That’s what happened to a couple of our friends. Without any preconceived expectation, they saw something which gave them a great deal of faith to believe that they were receiving the supernatural help of angels on patrol, protecting their home.
I think you’ll like this simple but impacting story from Tyler and Crystal.
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Angels on assignment
"A few weeks ago, our neighbor drove by and said that they “saw our cat entertaining a family of raccoons” in our front yard. That neighbor called and suggested that we view it on our security cameras. We accessed the camera memory and found something very different…
We never did see the cat and raccoons, but were surprised to see this wispy ‘figure’ move across our yard just in front of our porch, as if it was an angel on patrol. Very encouraging and inspiring!
A few days ago, without any prompting, our daughter said that she saw an angel in our back yard and said it was very similar to what was on our cameras a few weeks ago.
Thank God, the Heavenly realms are becoming so much more real, these days!” – TS/MO
(Starts at about 5 seconds in... a figure moves across the lawn from our right to left,)
38. Stories to Inspire
How many times have you discovered a phrase tucked away inside a verse that you know so well? It was like the Light of Heaven shone on it in a brand-new way, revealing a brand new rhema. And when that rhema bursts alive, you find that it is easy to embrace or walk in the reality of that new insight.
That’s the power of Revelation. When revelation comes, it also brings the permission and empowerment to walk in the reality of that revelation. This is so clear in Col 3:4.
“When Christ, who is our life, appears, we shall appear with Him in glory.” – Col 3:4
Let me elaborate on that verse, like this:
As often as Jesus appears to you... and in whatever way He appears to you... He brings with Him the permission and empowerment for you to manifest in that same glory that He just manifested.” – Mark’s Expanded Version
O boy!!! So Julie found a little phrase tucked away in a very familiar verse. There it was. Had it been hiding in there all this time? Of course it had. Evidently God thought she was ready to take the next step.
And so she did. She engaged with the living Word of God. You’ll like Julie's story. And you’ll want to try it. That’s the power of testimonies.
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And I will manifest Myself to him
Yesterday morning, my husband Jeff and I were talking about John 14:21, which says,
“And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
After Jeff went to work, I remained in the living room, sitting
in one of the fireplace chairs, pondering this verse that seems
to promise us that if we love Jesus He will personally appear
to us. What an amazing promise!
So I closed my eyes and said to the Lord, “I love you, Lord,
please manifest Yourself to me.” Then when I opened my
eyes and looked at our couch, this is what I saw!
On the velour blanket, there was an image of Jesus‘ hand…
and His arm up to His shoulder… and the sleeve of His robe.
Do you see it? And can you see the nail print on His hand?
What an amazing God we have! So faithful and true to His promises!
So the next morning, guess where I had my quiet time?... in that very place, in His arms! – JE/KS
37. Stories to Inspire
Our Heavenly 'family' is getting more real, more relevant and more practical all the time. What a gift from our most loving Father!
People ask frequently, "So how does this change your life?"
And that's a great question. I'd want to know, also. For starters, when a person's heart gets tenderized and their mindset about Heavenly realities gets upgraded, that a real blessing, right!?!? But when our circumstances are being radically effected for the good, that becomes the 'icing on the cake'.
A friend of mine is experiencing some very real life changing benefits from partnering with her angels... which is just one category of Heaven's many resources to the saints.
What would you think if this was your family? Would you be happy? You betcha!
Due to the personal nature of this story the names have been withheld or changed.
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Reconciler is on the job!
My family has been disconnected for the past 5 years, which
was when a disastrous Christmas resulted in disconnection of
relationships and family members taking sides. It was heart
breaking for this Mama to watch it unfold. But God has been
faithful to grow my faith and equip me with faith-tools to
bring breakthrough and reconciliation in my family.
So, I met a new angel named Reconciler, about a month ago. It has been really fun to partner with Reconciler in assignments for my family. Since I've met and partnered with him, here are a few wonderful developments with my adult children and their families.
1. My son called to tell me of a dream he had about 2 weeks ago. In the dream his sister came to visit and met her niece and nephew she had never met. My son woke feeling hopeful, peaceful and encouraged about the possibility of reconciliation!! Woot! Woot!
2. Another son called and wanted to let me know they would like to come visit. (We haven’t seen them since last summer. They have chosen to not be together because of covid.) While here, some very painful situations from 20 years ago were brought up in a conversation - blaming me. The Lord gave me grace to stay 'present' and listen. The result was that my son said, “Mom, I don’t think I have ever said this, but I want to celebrate you for taking the courage to leave Dad.” That was a 180 from where the conversation had started.
3. More family was here last weekend. We had a delightful time. I asked my son for a private meeting in my office and God gave me grace to ask questions and share my heart with him around a story he had told me that I had a very different perception of. He listened and I felt his heart shift…he stood up and walked to me and gave me a big long hug and said, "Mom, I love you." Woot! Woot!
4. Next, I received a text message from a daughter (another big disconnect with she and her family) asking us to come for Grandparents Day at my granddaughter’s school. We made the 7 hour trip and had a wonderful time with our granddaughter at her school and spending time together with her family. I am so grateful for hearts opening to connection.
5. More recently, I received a call from my son. He had taken the day off. He shared what he is learning about meditation! My ears perked up! He asked me if I would lead in a meditation/prayer... however I wanted... with him on the phone. Wow, so cool! So I did both. It was a sweet heart connection that we had not experienced before.
6. A few days ago, I received a call from my oldest daughter. I haven’t had any communication from her for months. She called to apologize for the things that she said to me the last time we talked. Wow! Guess who is at work! Reconciler!
I'm thanking God for letting me partner with my angel Reconciler.
I am so grateful that we are learning to meet our angels and partner with them. When there had seemingly been no evidence of healing in the family, the tide has shifted and fruit is coming forth.. Glory to God! - MD/MO
36. Stories to Inspire
Our Heavenly inheritance is expanding all the time. Just one of those areas of inheritance has been traveling in our spirit with Holy Spirit to do Kingdom missions. And it’s been an amazing adventure.
But, as we all know, it's also Biblical to ‘travel’ in our body. Jesus did it, Philip did it, Ezekiel did it, Paul did it… etc. And we even have modern day examples of it.
A convincing and significant record of these phenomena are recounted in the writings of the Catholic mystics (Remember, that was the only church there was until about 500 years ago). Sadly, we lost many of those Heavenly realities. BUT, what we lost is being regained in this last century. And we’re actually seeing some of this recuperation happen right before our eyes.
Don’t you love it! We’re stepping into that same reality that inspired John to write:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” – I Jn 1:1
These 'Stories to Inspire' are of the ‘seen and touched’ kind! Thank You, God!
Continue reading as my sister Leann Albrecht, tells of when her friend ‘disappeared’ for a while to go on a Kingdom mission.
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Where’s Betty?
It was a Tuesday evening worship service. Betty took her place on the same seat in the front row, where she always sits.
That day there had been a huge and very devastating earthquake in Nepal. So we spent time during worship, praying for Nepal.
As I was leading worship and sometime in the middle of our time of prayer, I looked up and realized that Betty wasn’t in her seat. I just thought that she may have stepped out for a minute to go to the bathroom. But ten minutes later she was still gone. I thought to myself, “I hope she’s alright. I’ll ask her later.”
Afterward, Betty was walking around, so I asked her, “Are you ok?”
“Sure, why?”
“You were gone from your seat for a while during worship.”
“No way. I was here the whole time.”
“I thought you may have gone to the bathroom.”
“No I never left my seat.”
“Ok then where were you?”
“I was in Nepal, walking the streets. People were bumping into me because they couldn’t see me. I could smell the street life and hear and feel the terror. So, I released the Presence of God… the Peace and Power of Jesus over the people in the streets. Then I came back.”
Even as we talked about it afterward, Betty was completely unaware that she had not only traveled with Holy Spirit in her spirit, but in physical form, too. It was very hard for her to comprehend!
What a deal!! This Heavenly mission with Holy Spirit involved Betty’s spirit AND body! And there’s so much more ahead, for all of us!
35. Stories to Inspire
Are you ready to translate or travel in the Spirit? Well, get ready. It's becoming much more common.
In history we’ve heard of an occasional crazy cool story of those who have traveled in the Spirit on missions to other places in the world and then returned to tell the amazing stories. We've even heard of a very few who've brought back artifacts... or maybe they still had dust on their feet from their travels on dirt roads, etc. These accounts intrigue us immensely, but may tend to stretch our envelope of credibility.
In the middle 1900s there was a group of intercessors in California called the 'Ladies of Gold'… and they were members of a prayer ministry called the Golden Candlestick. There are confirmed accounts that these ladies physically traveled in the Spirit for up to days at a time… and then returned with artifacts from their Heavenly missions. A book entitled Ladies of Gold: The Remarkable Ministry of the Golden Candlestick - Vol 1 by James Maloney, relates some of these incidents. This group mentored James Maloney who then ministered widely until he passed into his eternal reward in 2021. Accounts like these are special forerunners and heralders of what's available for more than just a few.
The truth be told, as we’re entering the Kingdom age, the mode of operation in the Kingdom is getting upgraded all around us. New frontiers are opening up. And if you just think about it; If God is going to change the expression of Christianity in a single generation, then we'd better be prepared to be OK with some radical new upgrades!!!
Listen to this account of my good friend’s daughter who traveled in the Spirit in her dream and then found something very unusual the next day, which validated her travel the night before. Was she actually there in her spirit only… or in body and in spirit? You decide!
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Look what I found!
My local trusted friend has a teenage daughter. (Her
name shall remain anonymous, so we’ll call her ‘Susie’.)
Susie's heart had been deeply stirred while on a missions trip
to a foreign country a few years ago and since then she's
been gripped with becoming a missionary.
Recently, ‘Susie’ had the dream of being in Guatemala on a missions trip. In the dream, a little girl spent quite a bit of time making a bracelet. ‘Susie’ did not know the little girl nor know her name. There wasn't too much more to the dream. But it’s what happened afterward that makes this dream and this story so special. The next day, in a random search, ‘Susie’ was surprised to find the exact same bracelet in her purse… the same design and same materials! (Actual bracelet in picture) Susie had never seen this bracelet before, except in the dream.
‘Susie’ told no one about this experience, except her parents… and she wants to remain anonymous. She has traveled in the Spirit, and in her dreams, but has never brought back artifacts before this. So what do you think? Was she there in spirit only… or in body and spirit?
O boy!! The Heavenlies are getting more real all the time!
34. Stories to Inspire
How would you know if a Heavenly entity was trying to get your attention? Would they talk to you… would they knock on the door… would they cause a feather to fall in front of you… would they appear in a dream… or ??
You see, as we begin to believe Heb 12:22-23 more fully, we realize that we are currently in the midst of innumerable angels and we are with the church of the Firstborn and all those who’s names are registered in Heaven, etc. They’re all around us… because we’re in their territory – if we believe our Bibles. So the communities of earth are learning to integrate with the communities of Heaven. Paul charges us to set our affections on these things above… don’t think about earth-things anymore (Col 3:1-2).
“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,…” – Heb 12:22-23
So, not long ago we were activating our faith to engage with all the entities in that passage. A thought popped into my mind, so I simply spoke, “Be open to a melody of a song which may help you be aware of one of these saints in ‘the cloud’ nearby.”
Here Debbie relates what she encountered during that activation…
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Dad’s favorite song
One of my father’s favorite songs was Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.
Years ago, in a beautiful outdoor setting at The Garden Gate Tea
Room, a curious thing happened. We were leading worship at a
benefit in my father’s honor, and were in the middle of singing
this very song, when someone came up and whispered in my ear
that Dad had just passed away. I looked up to the clear night sky
full of bright shining stars, and with tears streaming down my face,
we continued to sing…
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His Glory and Grace
Some of my last words to Dad were thanking him for leading me to Jesus. So when I hear this song, I always think of him. But now, this song has taken on new meaning.
As Mark led us in an activation, I couldn’t hold back the tears. I realized that Dad had been singing that song to us the night he went home. I understood for the first time, that Dad was in the great cloud of witnesses worshiping at the Heavenly Garden Gate while we worshiped from the earthly Garden Gate. And we were singing the same song together. I felt Heaven and earth merging more than ever before.
Now, every time I hear this song, I will be even more aware of the rich blessing and presence of all those in this "great cloud of witnesses".
Thanks, Dad. Thank you for continuing to remind me to turn my eyes upon Jesus. - DH
33. Stories to Inspire
“The Heavens declare the glory of God.” – Ps 19:1
Yes, we know that the initial interpretation of this verse is referring to the celestial heavens. But what if there is a broader meaning, such as when all of the resources (angels) of Heaven bring glory to God by their handiwork and service to the sons of men. Without a doubt, it causes our hearts to be amazed at the goodness of God.
Cindy and her family members in this story are faithful and solid Jesus lovers. Their long term track record of walking with God gives testimony that they are not fickle, flippant or flighty. But at this time in life, their hearts are awakening most delightfully to the ‘above the line’ realities. Now more than ever, these new discoveries are gripping their hearts with how good God is and the largeness of Heaven’s resources toward us… angels just being one of those resources.
Check out one of Cindy’s first experiences with her angels.
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I want my wallet back
“My daughter-in-law Lila, dropped her kids and friends off at the pool and then she ran to the store to grab a few things! Not wanting to take in her purse, she grabbed her wallet out of the purse and took out only her credit card! Her last memory of her wallet was of it being on her lap. Later when she couldn't find her wallet, she assumed that she had jumped out of the car and that it had fallen to the ground in the store parking lot! She texted us and asked us to commission our angels to help find it!”
“When this all first happened, Lila had decided she would trust the Lord completely and not lean on her own understanding! She would hold off a day before calling the card companies etc. She was able to stay in a place of peace all day!”
“This was my first time to ask my angels to go on assignment! I hadn’t even officially met them yet! I simply ask for their help in finding the wallet! Lila’s sister Sonya, also asked for a word of knowledge! What she got was a picture of a towel and the car. This was immediately confirmed in Lila’s heart because the children had left all their towels in the car on the front passenger seat instead of taking them to the pool! She had already taken the kids home when Sonya shared about the towel in the car. So she went to her friends’ house and asked if her kids had found her wallet with their things! She has 6 children. So when she finally asked the youngest, he said, “No,” but then looked in his backpack and there it was! I guess he had stuffed his towel in his backpack!”
“Praise God! And yes, “Thank you angels!” Getting to know our angels has been so much fun for all of us.” - CM
32. Stories to Inspire
Learning to see in the Spirit requires activating another sensory apparatus. For some that activation is easy and for others it’s very foreign.
When we get started, we never know whether we’ll have the ‘duck to water’ experience… or the incremental progress which comes with just being persistent. Sadly, it is easy to get discouraged if you find yourself in the second group.
Here is Karen’s very brief description of her incremental progress into seeing and experiencing in the Spirit realm. And even now, she is mostly engaged with intimate encounter with Jesus… and only occasionally has “noteworthy” experiences. Maybe you can relate to Karen and find confidence in your incremental growth into seeing in the Heavenlies.
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Getting started… Learning to see
When we were first introduced to going to the Heavenlies (ascending), I joined in the best I could. But, I did not see or sense anything, except peace. I went home hungry for more. So, I looked up Justin Paul Abraham and found an activation on YouTube. I recorded this 10-minute activation on my phone and every night when I took my bath I would play this activation. I remember Justin saying you don’t need to see, say or feel anything, just be present to Father.
So that is what I did. I “bathed” in His presence every night. I did not have any remarkable experiences but I knew that this practice was filling me with something I’ve not had before.
I think it was a few months later, I was on a Zoom call when I first saw something. Then, it was maybe another month or so when I had a healing encounter in Heaven where Jesus took me back to a traumatic experience in a hospital when I was 12 and changed everything!
I began this whole ascended life journey started just over one year ago. Now, I experience some noteworthy things occasionally, but most times in the last few months, I am sitting on a bench with Jesus or my face is in his hair (very intimate). - KD
31. Stories to Inspire
My friend Sully is a down-to-earth creative. He loves God as well as anyone, but isn’t exactly your garden variety cookie cutter church go-er. His style is somewhat maverick and very industrious. But God took him by surprise one evening in a group Heavenly experience.
There were several great Heavenly encounters that evening, but I think Sully’s impacted me most deeply because Sully wasn’t exactly Sully, when he shared his story. His eyes wouldn’t stop leaking… and his sharing was labored and jerky, between deep waves of emotion. One needed to look no further to be solidly convinced of the powerful nature of Sully’s encounter. He was tearfully happy and a much free-er man than I’ve ever seen. For Sully, Father’s highly personalized Heavenly encounter was unforgettable and life changing.
O Lord, for many more Heavenly encounters!!!
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Good dogs go to Heaven
"I was raised to believe that going to Heaven was going to be really cool when it happened. I was told, “You’ll be with Jesus, the 12 Apostles and all the saints.” Wow that’s cool, is Judas gonna be there, dad? He was an apostle, right?” Yes he was son; but he got cut from the team, and we made a trade with the Pharisees for Saint Paul”… You’ll be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, too.” Okay, are they like fluffy clouds or more like stormy clouds? “No son, the cloud of witnesses is all those who have gone to heaven before you.” Oh, so Grampa will be there? “Yes he will”. That’s great, I miss him. What about Teddy (our dog that got killed by a car) and Toots (the turtle whose death was caused by eating beyond his shell capacity)? No son, only people will be in heaven. You see son, animals don’t have eternal souls like we do. Oh… uh… okay. And so, that was my introduction to Heaven. Oh, one more thing, you had to be dead to go there."
"Fast forward about fifty years and my friend Mark is in my barn with about 20 other people asking all of us if we want to “spirit travel, and go to heaven”. I no longer had a child’s view of Heaven, which was rather unfortunate, because Mark told us that children have a much easier time of spirit traveling because their head doesn’t get in the way of their “golden imagination”. I didn’t think I’d be going to heaven on Mark’s Spirit bus, with my thick head; but I figured, what the h…eaven, I’ll give it a try."
"And so, the journey began, with Mark gently encouraging us to let go of our earthly tethers; and enter through the door… “Jesus is the Door”. Those were the last words I remember him saying, my mind slipped it’s adult mooring and I was a child of God, wandering in His green and golden Heaven. I found myself (a much younger me, maybe 13 or so) wandering carefree in what appeared to be an endless green field, on a bright and beautiful sunny day. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my favorite dog, Jedidiah was there with me jumping out of his skin with joy, wagging not just his tail; but wagging his entire body. His excitement was all consuming and as I fell to my knees to hug him, he intensified his affection with sloppy wet face licks for his master. We were having such a joyous reunion that time seemed to stand still; and all that remained was joy, pure unabashed joy."
"I should tell you that I was in my 50’s, not a boy when Jedi was my dog. Also, you should know that Jedi was a ranch dog and didn’t like going to the vet, AT ALL; but when he started acting sluggish we took him anyway. We were heartbroken when our vet delivered the devastating news, our young, ‘wonderboy’ had inoperable cancer. A tumor was growing inside him and the best we could do was to keep him comfortable until it was time to put an end to his suffering. So when the time came, rather than add to his suffering by taking him to the vet, I took it upon myself to end his life. I’m not a stranger to killing; but putting down my favorite dog was a bitter pill to swallow."
"I’ve been around joy junkies for a while now; and to be honest, I never really trusted them. Haha. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t judge them for their “drunk in Spirit” behavior, I just simply didn’t have a clue as to what the heck they were doing or talking about. Well, that little trip to heaven really flipped the script on me. NOW I have an understanding of the joy they are talking about; but I have to say that little 3 letter word is woefully inadequate to describe my experience."
"When Mark asked if anyone wanted to share their experience to the group, I was very reluctant and finally, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, tried to explain what happened. However, I was so saturated by this emersion in God’s bottomless ocean of JOY, that salt water was springing from my eyes! Now, if those tears had letters or words, I’m sure they would tell you about this level of joy a whole lot better than me. I simply cannot find adequate words to describe it; and for 6 months I’ve tried! The closest I can get is “Heavenly Joy”… and I pray you and I get to have some more of it before we get there!" – SS
30. Stories to Inspire
As we grow in God, we realize that He gave us a new heart, we just have to learn to live from our new heart instead of the old patterns of yesterday. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (kainos – new species) (II Cor 5:17). We must be diligent to “get a new mind” (Rms 12:2) and experience “the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
O, it’ll take some time to wean ourselves from the earth-centered consciousness to the upgraded Heaven-based consciousness… but it’s so worth it.
Below, my buddy Earl shares a story of how God recently gave him a new heart… at least took away all the problems that his old heart used to have. If you have heart or blood pressure issues, let this testimony be your ticket to a position of faith for your own miracle.
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New heart granted
"About three months ago, I started to have issues with my blood pressure. When I exercised it would rise instantly to over 180/100 and I would feel pressure in my chest. Just resting I would feel it rise and my head would start to pound. It was constantly above 150/90 even when resting. I would wake up in the middle of the night with it 165/98. I was feeling fatigued all the time."
"Add this with my history of having a quadruple heart bypass surgery 9 years ago; I have been understandably concerned my arteries were getting clogged again. These were all the same symptoms I had before that last surgery."
"Another concern was the VA Doctor has been after me for years to take cholesterol-lowering medications and I refused them. I could hear them saying “I told you so.”"
"The first thing I did was give up salt and sugar. Yes, I salted bacon. Sylvia, my other Holy Spirit, has been saying I needed to quit the salt for years. Amazing what you will do when you hear the “shot across the bow.” That was five weeks ago and my resting blood pressure returned to normal, but I was still having chest pressure and extremely high blood pressure when I exerted any activity. Going up the stairs twice caused it to spike and my chest to tighten."
"At a meeting at Mark Hendrickson’s, I explained to him what was going on with me and asked for prayer sometime during the meeting. Later there was a time of prayer for those who needed healing… so several gathered around me to pray. God’s presence was wonderful. I felt that something had happened but no real outward signs."
"Five days later I went for a stress test at the hospital. I walked and eventually started jogging and continued for 9 minutes. They got my heart rate up to 125 and my blood pressure rose slowly from 125/76 to 135/80 to 175/88 and then when I rested it immediately came down to 135/65! No chest pressure at all!! After that, they put dye in my IV and had me run for another minute. After nuclear imaging, I was sent home. At 4 pm I received a call from the doctor’s nurse. She said there were no issues and no further tests needed. She said I was at low risk for heart problems. I have not had a high blood pressure reading since that prayer time."
"This gets even better. I have been taking 12.5mg of Carvedilol for a heart arrhythmia problem. The VA put a 24-hour heart monitor on me and my heart skipped a beat over 6,000 times during that period. I have been taking that for 9 years. I felt the Lord say to stop taking it, so that is what I did. That was several weeks ago and my heart has not skipped a beat. I have not had one side effect from the sudden discontinuation of the medication. I feel like my youth is being renewed according to Psalm 103:5, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” I have quoted this Psalm at least once a week for years. And to think this is under the older covenant. What does the New Covenant promise?" – EA
Follow-up: “It’s been a month now. All blood pressure and arrhythmia issues are still healthy normal as they should be. But I’ve discovered another blessing… Since I’m off of the meds, my short term memory has dramatically improved. I began noticing a marked improvement… and even my wife and friends have noticed it. Wow!!! Thank You, God!!!”
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget ALL His benefits!!!” – Ps 103:2
29. Stories to Inspire
This story may not be so much different from some other great ministries such as; Sozo, Theophostic, Healing Prayer or Emanuel Prayer…. all of which are methodologies of healing problematic issues in our past. But in most of those practices, it requires a ‘coach’ to assist you on this journey into our healing.
Isa 2:3 says that He (Himself) will teach us of His ways and we shall learn to walk in His paths AS we learn to ascend to the Mountain of the Lord. Did you catch that? We must ascend… that’s UP to to His territory. Thank God for people who come alongside us to help us into breakthroughs. We’re very grateful! But what would it be like if we were led by Jesus Himself?
I believe this is just one of the many benefits of learning to ascend into the Heavenlies. And that’s just for starters!!!
Listen to Karen’s recent story of how Jesus lovingly cared for her as He personally escorted her back in time to a place of a lot of pain for a young 12-year-old girl. He extracted that pain from her memories. It reminds us again that He wants to and is very capable of restoring all things in our lives.
Let’s let Him.
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Jesus rewrote the story
“Recently I was invited to go through the ‘Door’ of heaven (John 10:9). Here’s my experience.”
“Once I walked through the Door I heard water gushing and I saw a waterfall, high cliffs and beauty all around.”
“Jesus came to me and said, ”Let me love you,” and beckoned me to follow Him. He led me to a scene in my past where I was recovering from spinal fusion surgery. I was in a very hot and depressing room in a Children’s Hospital in Nebraska. My Mom was in the room with me.”
“When Jesus walked into the room it was suddenly filled with beautiful flowers and a lovely fragrance. He motioned for me (adult Karen) to crawl into the bed with young Karen and hold her.”
“One by one, He led me back into many memories in that hospital where I stayed for 3 months. There were many dark memories that happened in that hospital to myself and others. I was in that hospital 400 miles away from home at age 12 without my family — except for a couple of visits from them. Each memory we walked through, He transformed into a fun party. Every day became a big party in the ward with 30 other girls between the ages of 12-18. Some days we had our toes painted and some days we had our fingernails painted. We had angels attending us in a loving and kind way. There was an atmosphere of great joy in the place. Jesus rewrote the story… not only for me, but for every girl in that ward.”
“There is truly a transformation of joy happening inside of me because of this encounter. I love how Jesus took the memories and experiences and redeemed them as only He can. As a result, these memories are not holding me as a victim any longer!! Now, when I remember this season in my childhood I feel a sense of joy instead of dread.” – KD
28. Stories to Inspire
Have you ever had a regret in your past that you wished you could go back and do it right? Of course… most of us have. What if there was a way to do just that?
1. Is it Biblical to go back in time? Can we have any influence over something so pervasive as TIME?
Paul admonishes us to “redeem the time”. Most of us probably think that means to just work harder or more diligently. And I imagine that is good for starters but I’m confident that there is more latitude for interpretation of this verse. Here are just a few references to changes of time in our Bibles.
“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” – Eph 5:15-16
“And another king shall rise up… and he will intend to change times and the law…” – Dan 7:25
Sun went backward ten steps for Hezekiah – II Kngs 20:9-11
“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.” – Josh 10:13
2. So how can I change things back in time? How can I change things that seem buried in my past?
Well, for starters check out a post on my blog of how a daughter was physically healed without knowing that her mother went back in time and “rewrote the script.”
And now, check out Donna’s story as she remakes a choice in an event that happened many decades before.
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Go back and remake your choice
“A few years ago, I read Nancy Ravenhill’s story and was impressed with how she prayed for Jesus’ help during some abusive times as a child. Her story reminded me of something that happened to me when I was a little girl. I wished I could have asked Jesus for help then, but at the time I didn’t know to do that. Instead, my experience brought fear into my life.”
“Several months after reading Nancy’s book, I heard Patricia King speak at a conference. She said that Jesus, as our redeemer, “buys back and reestablishes”. She said, “If there is an area you have remorse over, go back into the memory with Jesus. Repent, receive forgiveness. Then make the right choice. He can then fix and redeem the situation.””
“I decided to go back to my childhood experience and remake my choice, which I didn’t know how to make when I was young.”
“What happened—more than 50 years ago—was that I “saw” a man in my closet, an old man wearing a suit. I was afraid of him and afraid to get out of bed. My mom came, opened the closet, and showed me that no one was there. But the fear remained throughout my childhood and into adulthood. Looking back on this incident through the years I always saw that man in the closet.”
“I went back in time in my imagination to the experience with the intention to make a better choice than I made as a little girl. I told Jesus I was sorry that I didn’t ask for His help back then. I asked Him to help me and to take care of the man in my closet. It was that simple. The next part was not a product of my imagination. I saw Jesus angrily dropkick that man right out of the house. Gone for good! I knew Jesus was not happy about what had happened to me, and that too was healing. From then till now I see only an empty closet.” – DB
27. Stories to Inspire
Every good father wants his children to begin to learn his heart and his values and his world. We proudly introduce our children to the places we grew up and to the important people in our lives. Our hopes are that in so doing that it will help form a paradigm for them to mature well.
And our Heavenly Father is no different. Jesus said, “It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.” – (Lk 12:32)
So how do we become familiar with our Father’s world? Well, Jesus said that we can’t even get into the Kingdom of Heaven unless we become like a little child. I think part of becoming like a little child involves learning how to simply recognize our Father’s leading. If we can learn Father’s voice and respond to it, then we can be assured we’re safe to explore new territories.
Sometimes, I employ a simple activation that usually yields some pretty astounding experiences – sometimes tender tear-filled and powerfully personal… and sometimes hilarious, accompanied with lots of laughter. God’s ways are way more personal and fun than we ever expected. This is just one activation that can launch us into a process of wonderful discovery of our Father’s world.
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Sacred heart angel
At The Well – my sister and bro-in-law’s church in the Nashville area – we initiated an activation to become familiar with our angels. We asked Holy Spirit to put something in our left hand… and with our right hand to take the first name that came to mind. This would be a child-like ‘first step’ into the discovery of the function and identity of one of our angels.
My sister Leann, felt like a glass heart was put in her left hand, but then the glass heart turned into a real beating heart. The first name that came to her mind was ‘Sacred’. One possible application of those two things is that Leann may have an angel that brings and reveals the Sacred Heart of the Father to her and helps her minister His heart to others.
Two days later, Debbie and I gave Leann and Carl their Christmas gifts. My gift to Leann was a clear 2” glass angel that I brought from KC (see pic). She gasped in surprise, “Do you know what this is!?” Honestly, I had no idea of the significance! She pointed out that the angel is holding a glass heart in its hands and reminded me of what had happened just 2 days before, with her Sacred Heart angel experience. Then I remembered. We were both amazed at how God is so good and so personal as He leads us into His world. He is so fun!!! - MLH
26. Stories to Inspire
In a recent post, I asked, “What did you do with 2020?” You’ll love what my friends have done with 2020.
We’ve all had our 2020 hardships, but in March a great friend of mine and his wife had to go to another country in order to get their visas renewed. Their home for the last several years has been in a foreign country where they serve as missionary pastors. But in the day or so that they were out of their home country, Covid restrictions shut everything down. They couldn’t re-cross the border to return home. Now they were stuck in a country where they don’t have any friends… and only a casual contact.
But the cool thing is that after nearly a year of being stuck, they currently have a boatload of God-stories… including housing, finances, connections, ministry, etc. Any normal human response to being trapped in a foreign country would likely be overwhelming discouragement and potentially ‘poisoning’ our future with murmuring and complaining. But true to their norm, they’ve been actively engaged in listening and responding to God… even in this foreign land… even despite covid.
BTW – Here’s the latest on their living accommodations: “We’re still stuck in ‘xxxxxxx’, and just got a major upgrade in our living situation. We’re apartment sitting. It’s a really nice place. Eighth floor, beautiful view, great location and reduced rent. It keeps on getting better!”
This next story is about a new area that God caused them to prosper. God loves to take what the devil means for evil and our destruction… but with our participation, God turns it around for our good!! This story is a great example of that.
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Prospering while trapped in another country
“I know everyone is sending you cool ‘traveling in the spirit’ testimonies, however, I want to tell you a cool Divine provision testimony.”
“Earlier last year I felt Papa was leading me into a new area of investing. My wife and I had some extra money in savings, which was new for me. As a single missionary guy living on faith for most of my adult life, I was used to having ‘just enough.’ I was always more than grateful for what I received because it was usually the result of some cool God story of how the money came to me. My wife and I began discussing what we should do with the extra money until we needed it.”
“I began praying, researching and felt I should look into investing in some companies on the New York Stock Exchange. I’ve been a Christian most of my life and growing up in the church I had never heard a message or read a book on investing. It was a little unnerving for me, but I remember working on a project in high school where we did some investing with imaginary money and I did quite well… and really enjoyed it. So this gave me some confidence.”
“In the winter of 2019, I had just finished reading Kris Vallotton’s book ‘Poverty, Riches and Wealth.’ I was really inspired by this book, especially by Jesus’ parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27). I began feeling a ‘nudge’ and soft encouragement by Holy Spirit to look into investing. However, there was also the strong feeling to wait until Spring to invest. I did my homework, researched the companies that I wanted to invest in, learned how to invest and was ready to go.”
“But I kept feeling like I was to wait until Spring. I thought, “This must just be fear that’s stopping me from investing.” But the feeling wouldn’t go away. So I waited. Well, as you know, Covid took the world by storm in early March of 2020 and wiped out the stock market. It dropped big time! I knew this would be a golden opportunity, as I had faith to believe the stock market would come back. So, I began investing.”
“My initial goal was to make 10% on my investments for the year. I knew the bank would give me less than 3% and I had enough confidence that I could do better than that. The stock market had its ups and downs but ended up recovering throughout 2020. I had some disappointments and some victories. I learned many lessons, took prayerfully calculated risks and exceeded my yearly goal rather significantly. Like I said, my goal was to make 10%. Well, I ended up making almost 100%… or close to doubling my investment. I turned my ‘ten minas’ into another ‘ten minas.'”
“This is not a testimony of how “God made me rich,” nor am I saying if you follow God He’ll make you rich, nor am I saying that if you invest God will tell you what to invest in (at least He didn’t tell me). It’s a testimony of receiving a ‘nudge’, obeying the ‘nudge’, trusting God in a new arena, being faithful with what God has given you and then watching Him bring the multiplication.”
“It was a wild ride and so cool to succeed in a new arena with Papa. I’m a bit cautious about investing in the current market. But I’ll carefully and prayerfully move forward with investing if I feel that little ‘nudge’ again.” – DV
25. Stories to Inspire
Here’s a short story video that will likely melt your heart.
April 2, 2018 – Nearly 3 years ago, our then 14-month-old grandson Asher, was suddenly stricken with acute flaccid myelitis – an inflammation and swelling of the spinal cord. He had just taken a 2-hour nap and uncharacteristically woke up crying… without any apparent reason. After some homespun testing, John took him to the ER. That night was a long night.
Cheryl and I joined John and Asher early the next morning. After intensive research and extensive tests, the Drs knew what was wrong, they just didn’t know why… and the prognosis they gave us was pretty hopeless.
Despite knowing that this was a serious problem, we immediately reminded our hearts and minds of how our family lives in the favor of the Lord… proven by countless miracles of His goodness. We determined that we would NOT let our hearts be sucked down into a dark whirlpool of confusion, discouragement or despair. If every previous trial in our lives has ended up being an amazing trophy testimony, then why would this trial be any different!?! REALLY!!! This is the REAL stuff! If we’re in Christ, we must begin to believe His heart for us and anchor our emotions in this infallible truth.
John stayed in the hospital with Asher for 19 days. Cheryl traveled back and forth and took care of the other siblings. At about 19 days, Asher moved one finger 1/4″. Yay!!!! Our confidence was already unshakeable but that little 1/4″ movement was the ‘icing on the cake’. They dismissed him from the hospital saying that was all they could do for him. But that wasn’t to be the end of the story – THANK YOU, GOD!!!!
Since then, progress has been slow but very steady and remarkable.
Many people around the world have prayed for our little guy. This tender and innocent toddler has found his way into the hearts of countless caring folks. Nearly everywhere we go, someone asks how he’s doing. So, this short video is an overview of the last 3 years to tell the good news and give glory to our awesome God.
At this point, Asher has recovered most of the motor function and muscle skills in his arms, hands and fingers. His nerves have evidently established new pathways to transfer the impulses and his muscles have steadily rebuilt. There is no doubt that he’ll have as much normal function as any other boy within a year or so. Even now, it might be difficult for a stranger to notice that Asher ever had a problem.
Our hearts are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for His care for us the whole way through. He has helped us turn another test… into a test-imony! What we knew to be true about God nearly 3 years ago when things looked so bad, has carried us right into another one of a boatload of trophy God-stories that is power-packed to inspire others. He’s just that good!
The takeaway: Our God is so much better than we ever thought!! - MLH
Click here for a 5:30 mins video story
24. Stories to Inspire
It is my happy conviction that God has opened up a great ‘door’ of revelation to help transport us into our rightful and Biblical place ‘in the Heavenlies’… not merely as a theology, but as an experiential reality. Plenty could be said to validate that truth in Scripture… but I suggest that you read some of my past blog posts, here.
A new level of liberation is taking place. We are getting freed up from being merely ‘terra-firm-ites’… earthlings. Our greater reality is our Heavenly likeness, Heavenly location, Heavenly citizenship, etc. Check this out! Stupendous!
"See yourselves co-raised with Christ! Now ponder with persuasion the consequence of your co-inclusion in him. Relocate yourselves mentally! Engage your thoughts with throne room realities where you are co-seated with Christ in the executive authority of God’s right hand." – Col 3:1 Mirror Bible Translation
My confidence is that as we learn to “live and move and have our being” IN Him and IN the Heavenlies, we will find our 1) spirit man acknowledged and liberated… our 2) soul man inspired and empowered… and our 3) body experiencing super-natural things we never ever imagined… not to mention, being 4) more effective as men and women of God.
Just one of those avenues leading toward more effectiveness will be in prayer. As we find our place in the Heavens, we’ll not posture or perceive ourselves as weak plaintiff humans, but rather, as righteous and highly favored sons who are actually partnering with God in co-rulership. Think of it: not praying TO God… but WITH God.
Try it out sometime… like my good friend did. I’ll keep him anonymous in the following story.
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Father travels with Holy Spirit to pray for son
Recently I got a phone call from a very good and longtime friend. He’s heard some of the stories of our Ascended Life Community experiences.
Years ago, one of his adult sons separated himself from family and friends. Internal struggles led him to drug addiction, homelessness, and living on the street in his car. No phone, no address and a drifting lifestyle made it impossible to be contacted. So, the last time my friend was able to talk with his son was nearly 2 ½ years ago.
A few days ago, my friend’s heart was especially moved with compassion and tender care for his son. In prayer, he said, “I’m going to do that thing that Mark does where he goes with the Holy Spirit to the place where he is praying for… and then he prays in that place.” So, in prayer, my friend activated his mind and heart to go with Holy Spirit to his son. After engaging in this mode for a time, he fell asleep… and woke up later, without experiencing anything unusual.
But, a couple of days later he received a phone call and the operator asked if he would accept a collect call from his son. Of course, he said, “Yes.” My friend, his wife and their son had a cordial conversation. It was a relief to their hearts to hear in his voice that he was doing better than the last time they had talked with him.
I have followed this story with my friend and prayed into this story for many years. So, when he called to tell me the latest in his story, my tears quickly flowed. My father heart joined with his father-heart as we both rejoiced that they had at least talked… but we still felt the pain of his son’s separation and brokenness. Your prayers are appreciated.
BTW: He attributes the call from his son to a more effective way of praying for his son.
23. Stories to Inspire
God is opening up new territories for us to live in. These territories have always been available, and have always been in our Bibles but we haven’t had revelation to understand what we were reading.
I love Deut 29:29 which says that when God reveals something to us, it belongs to us and our children. It is ours! We own it and get to ‘walk in it’.
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Speaking of receiving revelation, consider John, The Revelator. He was just hanging out “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day”. (Rev 1:10)
Parenthetical question: Which day is the Lord’s Day? Is it Sunday… or Saturday… or? But then, which day of the week is not the Lord’s Day? And what if John was actually ‘caught up’ to the Great Day of the Lord (in the future)? Would that change anything? Just something to think about…
In any case, John is in a state of ecstasy… he’s already “in the Spirit” and while in that state, Holy Spirit invites him to come on up, even higher (Rev 4:1). Ever wonder how many levels of “in the Spirit” there are?
Inarguably, being ‘in the Spirit’ was fertile ground for John to get ‘revelated’. I believe it’s safe to say that our best revelations occur when we’re ‘caught up’ in the Spirit.
So, if God’s dream for our inheritance is for us to co-rule with Him over these Heavenly territories while we’re still “in this life” (Rms 5:17), then we’re going to have to become familiar with what’s ‘above the line’… in the Spirit realm. So, let’s go!
In this story, Karen is acclimating her heart and mind in this direction… and gets pleasantly surprised with a “sweet” mission of wrapping people in blankets of love and healing.
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Come on up here!
“Late one night, I couldn’t sleep, so I asked the Lord what He would like for me to know. I heard him say, “Come on up here.””
“Using John 10:9, I went through Jesus, our Door. I was then given a weighted blanket that was weighted with love and healing. It was stuffed with the healing leaves from the trees that grow on either side of Ezekiel’s River (Eze 47:12). He then pointed out many, many people who were to receive these blankets. He gave me specific directions for each person (or couple) about how I was to wrap the blanket around them. It was so sweet and when we were finished, I fell asleep.”
“I feel like we’ve been given a lot of permission to use our Holy Spirit ‘golden’ imagination to see things we’ve never seen before in Heaven and to participate with Jesus in ministering to others.” – KD
22. Stories to Inspire
Jesus said there was an easy way to access the Heavenlies… through Him! He said, “Use Me as your Door to access Heaven.”
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” – Jn 10:9
I know, we normally use this verse as a ‘salvation verse’ – “In order to get saved you have to come through Jesus.” But, if salvation is the only application for this verse, what do we do with the last phrase – “and will go in and out and find pasture?” Surely, we’re not implying getting saved, unsaved and resaved, are we? Rather, I believe Jesus just gave us a blueprint verse for how to live ‘above the line in the Heavenlies.
You see, we have great theology about the Heavenlies… but we have very little personal experience in the Heavenlies. We know these familiar verses by heart.
“… and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” – Eph 2:6
“Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…” – Col 3:1-3
As we follow Jesus’ invitation to use Him as the Door, the frontiers of our rich inheritance exponentially get opened up to us. Yay, we can experience more than a mere earthling experience! We are citizens of Heaven and the larger part of our being, is already CURRENTLY there. Jesus invites us to access the Heavenlies, explore it, become familiar with it and begin to possess our inheritance. So, for almost two years I’ve been facilitating hundreds of people ‘into Jesus’… and thus into the Heavenlies. And the very personal and powerful heart encounter stories melt my heart nearly every time.
This pic says it perfectly!!!!
Traveling in the Spirit is just one of the many frontiers available to us after we access the Heavens. And it’s a fun one. We’re not talking about some kind of astral projection or anything new age. We’re talking about the Biblical kind… the kind that Paul, Philip, Jesus, Elijah, John, etc, experienced. Obviously, we require ourselves to only follow Holy Spirit’s lead in these matters.
Jesus cautioned us:
“No one comes to the Father but by Me.” – Jn 14:6
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.” – Jn 10:1
With that securely etched in our minds and hearts, let’s full of faith, enter another part of our ‘Promised Land’. Got it!
Now, the following is one of my personal experiences.
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Spirit travel 500 miles to pray for my buddy Paul
Setup: I had been reading about, praying into and exercising in traveling in the Spirit for some time. Obviously, it’s in the Bible. And I’d already had several experiences.
Prompted, I emailed my friends Paul & Donna, in WI to see how they were doing. She texted back apprising me of Paul’s health. What I didn’t know was that his infected replacement heart valve had caused severe sepsis in his body. He’d been on 4 strong antibiotics, lost 50 pounds and been under quarantined medical care for 6 weeks. She finished by saying, “Thank you for praying. Paul is quite discouraged today. Maybe you can go visit him in room 51.”
I thought, “Hmmm, she probably thinks that I’m in WI.” So I said, “I wish I could. I’m in Kansas City. Please give him my love and care!!!” She replied, “Ha-ha, I meant in the Spirit.” Finding it hard to believe that I didn’t ‘pick up’ on this, I responded, “I should have caught that!!!! Sorry, I will do that right now!!!” My sense was that this was Holy Spirit’s way of prompting me to activate into my new frontier.
I immediately went up to my bedroom, stilled my mind, activated my golden (Holy Spirit inspired) imagination and ‘took off’. Within seconds I ‘flew’ 500 miles to WI, came down to the medical facility, in the front door, down the hallway, into Rm 51, placed my hand over Paul’s heart and made a few declarations over him. All of that came from my own initiation and activation of my mind into a position that I felt Holy Spirit had prompted me to do.
But I did not initiate what happened next! A bright white Light flooded Paul’s room. It was the very white ‘solid’ Light… so ‘thick’ you couldn’t see through it. It would be like standing immersed in a large vat of white milk. Goosebumps ran down my arm, literally. But then I wondered what I supposed to do with the light. But before I could even fully think that question, I knew what to do… I was supposed to take all the Light and impart it into his body through my arm and hand. But before I could even think that thought in my mind, it happened! And then I felt another wave of goosebumps down my arm.
Surprised, I said to myself, “Wow, I think something just happened!” (O man of faith that I am 😁) So I made a few more declarations over Paul and ‘backed out’ of the experience. I then text Donna and told her that I had visited and prayed for Paul.
A couple days later I text Donna to ask about Paul. She replied, “After you prayed for him, he had a breakthrough and decided to take one day at a time and not worry about the future. He has been doing much better emotionally since then. Thank you.”
A couple weeks later Paul was back home. I texted and asked if he’d like to talk on the phone… and soon he was telling me his story. I asked him if I could tell him my side of the story. And so I told him what I’ve just told you.
He was slow to respond and said, “That really touches my heart. The hardest part wasn’t even the physical ordeal, it was that from the time that I was under medical care, I couldn’t hear the voice of God. And you know how much I love to hear His voice… and that I even teach about how to hear His voice. But Donna said you called… and the next day I began to hear again. I’m home now, off all meds and gaining my strength back.”
About a month later, I called Paul again. He was still gaining his strength back and steadily getting better. And as you might imagine, our conversations are getting more Heavenly each time we connect.
Thank our wonderful God for miracles of several different kinds. - MLH
Addendum: That was 1 1/2 years ago. Paul and I connect weekly and he is going strong
21. Stories to Inspire
Recently, my friend Brian in Redding, CA told me of a story that happened to him a few years ago. In their home group they had traveled in the Spirit and set captive persecuted Christians free… only to see the evidence of it in the US news a few days later. That’s the kind of results we expect to see as we mature in co-ruling and co-legislating with God.
Up till a few years ago, our plaintiff petition prayers have been our only option, when we’re asking for God to do something about a problem on earth. And it’s been the best option that we had… taking into consideration the level of revelation that we had at the time. But now we realize that our Heavenly citizenship avails us much more latitude of movement in the Spirit realm… and much more effectiveness and results. This frontier is a game-changer. It’s becoming apparent that Christian life has so many more options for growth, expansion, effectiveness and governance, etc. Exciting!